French court to decide on Lafarge appeal over Syria activity
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The French Court of Cassation is scheduled to announce on Jan. 16, 2024, its decision regarding the appeal filed by the French Lafarge company regarding its activities in Syria during the 2010s.
The Court will rule on the indictments against Lafarge, which include charges of complicity in crimes against humanity and endangering the lives of its employees in Syria.
The French Lafarge company, since bought up by the Swiss Holcim conglomerate, ran a cement factory around 45km southeast of Kobani in northern Syria until 2015, when it was taken over by Islamic State (ISIS).
Le Monde, a French daily, found that Lafarge was involved in making substantial payments, through its Syria-based subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria, to radical militias, including (ISIS), between 2013 and 2014.
These payments were allegedly made to sustain the operations of a cement factory in the town of Chalabiya, despite the escalating conflict in the country.
Lafarge paid groups operating in the region around $15.34 million to carry on its operations, with between $4.8 and 10 million going to ISIS, according to one estimate. The money “paid passage fees and ransoms and purchased raw materials taxed by various Syrian armed rebel groups,” according to Le Monde.
The indictments were upheld by the Paris Court of Appeal in 2022 and are still being contested by the company.